They defended very well. And they have the people on and off the pitch to pull that off. It's just amazing how they managed to make that perfect counter attack out of the blue twice in two matches. We didn't take our chances, so maybe we infuriated the football god enough to provoke it ^^
I'm just annoyed by idiotic "fans" in bars talking sh** about possession football, and often about Özil playing badly. They will never get it. Some people only understand kick and rush.

I'm not going to worry too much about the last two results. Until Germany stop making it to semi-finals, there's nothing to worry about. This was a very different XI than the WM team, and if we absolutely need to win a game in this group, we will.

Agreed. I like that we have to build a new team now after all the retirements. We have 2 years, and there will be a lot of talent from U21 and maybe even U19 to choose from. I'm certain that we will qualify, and we see our best team again in 2016. Until then I'm excited to see who emerges from our youth.
Schweinsteiger needs to stay injury-free. If he isn't fit he will be a liability. Players like Rüdiger and Durm just need time and confidence. Götze and Özil need to seriosly up their games. Götze loses the ball too often (don't get me started on Özil). I like the new talent: Bellarabi! He has a lot of determination going forward. And Niklas Stark is probably our future captain. You heard it here first ^^

Philipp Lahm quits the Mannschaft... I honestly did not see that coming. He's been an excellent player wherever he played on the field and an exemplary professional. It'll be weird not seeing him next time Germany plays.

I was surprised, too! I thought he would play until the age of 36 or so. I think it is mostly psychological. Maybe kind of a burn out after all the tournaments and expectations. Schweinsteiger will probably take over.

I just hope we see a few top notch full back talents in the very near future.

Sure hope Schweinsteiger will take over. I remember hating his guts in 2004. Germany then were a very experienced team, and Schweinsteiger being the youngest player on the pitch kind of pissed me off. Never quite had any faith in young players then, but Schweinsteiger proved me wrong, I could never be more wrong about a player.

Either way, leadership wise, skill wise, brain wise, it all points to Schweinsteiger as Captain. Germany'd best win the Euros though, led by Schweinsteiger. If anyone deserves to win it as Captain, it's him.

On 1 September 2001 England secured an extraordinary win in Munich. A song about Sven-Goran Eriksson captured the moment – but some of his victorious squad did not realise the game’s impact at the time